The Commissioner of Educations Report
on Violence, Vandalism and Substance Abuse in New Jersey Public Schools is
submitted annually to the education committees of the Senate and
Assembly of the New Jersey State Legislature. It provides the Legislature
with data in four broad categories of incidents: violence, vandalism,
weapons, and substance abuse. It also summarizes initiatives implemented
by the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) to assist schools
in addressing problems of school violence, safety and climate, student
conduct and the use of illegal substances.

Prior to the 1999-2000 school year,
districts submitted summaries of their violence and vandalism data
to the county offices of education. In March of 2000, they reported
incidents directly to NJDOE over the Internet on the Electronic Violence
and Vandalism Reporting System (EVVRS). This years report is
the fifth to provide data from the EVVRS. Despite the introduction
of additional types of incidents to report, the total number of incidents
reported by school districts in 2003-2004 was 20,207, down 1,979 (or
9percent)
from 22,186 in 2002-2003. This change, as well as other year-to-year
comparisons contained in this report, must be interpreted with caution.
Some incident definitions changed in 2003-041 and three new types of violent incidents were added to the EVVRS.
Additionally, two districts experienced major declines totaling 1,252
fewer incidents reported or 63 percent of the total decrease of 1,979
in the number of incidents reported. 2

Consistent with previous years data, more than
two-thirds of all schools (69 percent) reported five or fewer total
incidents in 2003-2004 with one school in three (34 percent) reporting
no incidents at all. The distribution of the location of incidents
also mirrored that of prior years with three incidents in ten (30 percent)
taking place in the classroom and another 21 percent in the school
corridor. The police were notified in 38 percent of incidents reported,
up six percent in the two years from 2001-02.

____________________1 See Changes to
the Reporting System, Part D of the Introduction section of
this report.

2 Camden City Public Schools reported 849 fewer incidents
and TrentonCitySchool
District reported
403 fewer incidents in 2003-04 than they did in 2002-03 following
a local review of criteria used to classify incidents as serious
enough to report to the state through the EVVRS.____________________

Overall, there was a significant
decline in the number of incidents of violence and vandalism, a small
increase in the number of weapons incidents and a modest decrease in
the number of substance abuse incidents.

For the second year in a row
incidents in the violence category declined by 11 percent, driven
primarily by reductions in the number of simple assaults (24 percent),
fights (12 percent), sex offenses (45 percent) and threats3 (20
percent);

The number of incidents reported
under vandalism decreased by nine percent, due primarily to declines
in incidents involving damage to property (10 percent) and theft
(7 percent);

The number of incidents involving
weapons increased by 3 percent, accounted for principally by increases
in incidents involving knives; and

The number of incidents reported
under the substance abuse category decreased 4 percent, driven
primarily by an 8 percent decline in use of substances.

____________________3 The total for a new category in 2003-04, Terroristic
Threat, was added to the total number of Threats reported
to make the data comparable to that of 2002-03.____________________

In 2003-2004, out-of-school suspension
was again the disciplinary action taken most frequently in response
to reported incidents -- in 90 percent of the cases where a disciplinary
action was taken. The percentage of students committing offenses by
student type remained fundamentally unchanged from the prior year.
Regular education students constituted 73 percent of offenders and
students with disabilities 27 percent. The number of school personnel
reported as victims of any type of incident declined by 9 percent.

The NJDOE has aggressively pursued
a variety of strategies to address the problems of student disruption
and violence since the inception of the Safe Schools Initiative.
The NJDOEs most recent efforts to strengthen its approach to
reducing school violence and improving school safety cover a broad
array of policies, programs and other strategic initiatives, including
the following:

Formation and continued coordination
of a School Sector Advisory Committee and other working and planning
groups of the Attorney Generals Domestic Security Preparedness
Task Force to address the unique needs of schools for responding
to potential attacks and threats. As a result of advisory committee
planning, the department developed and disseminated to all chef
school administrators a confidential publication titled School
Safety Manual: Best Practices Guidelines. Plans are under way
to conduct on-site security audits in every school building in
New Jersey.

Development and dissemination
of guidance documents, including: Resource Manual for Intervention
and Referral Services (developed in support of N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7); Guidelines
for Public Schools and Approved Charter Schools to File Violence
and Vandalism Hearing Transcripts in Accordance with N.J.S.A. 18A:17-46 and
Guidelines for Public Schools and Approved Charter Schools to Observe
School "Violence Awareness Week" in accordance with N.J.S.A. 18A:36-5.1;
and Model Policy Prohibiting Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying
on School Property, at School-sponsored Functions and on School
Busses (developed in support of N.J.S.A. 18A:37-13 et
seq.). Plans are under way to revise the videotape program
series titled Intervention and Referral Services for General
Education Pupils: A Four-Part Videotape Program Series and Videotape
Companion Guide for dissemination in the 2005-2006 school year;

The proposal of regulations on
student conduct for inclusion in the chapter of administrative
code, N.J.A.C. 6A:16, Programs to Support Student Development;
the comprehensive review of N.J.A.C. 6A:16 for readoption
in 2006; the adoption of new regulations that impose a penalty
on a school employee who knowingly falsifies a report of an incident
of violence and vandalism, in accordance with the authorizing statute
[N.J.S.A. 18A:17-46(1)]; and the adoption of regulations
in 2001 addressing school safety, violence and health services
in N.J.A.C. 6A:16;

The development and implementation
of an Unsafe School Choice Option Policy, in accordance with the
provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001;

Hosting a statewide conference
for developers of violence and substance abuse prevention and intervention
programs designated as exemplary by the United States Department
of Education to showcase their programs to New Jersey educators.
The presentations and conference proceedings were videotaped and
copies disseminated to all New Jersey school districts. Plans are
under way to host a statewide conference in the spring of 2005
for developers of violence and substance abuse prevention and intervention
programs designated as promising by the United States Department
of Education to showcase their programs to New Jersey educators;

Implementation of the Positive
Student Discipline Reform Demonstration Project; the Intervention
and Referral Services Initiative; the Student Support Services
Planning and Development Project; the Community Services for Suspended
and Expelled Youth Project; the Disaffected Youth Grant Program;
and the Character Education Initiative, including establishment
of the New Jersey Center for Character Education at Rutgers University;

Supplementing the capacity for
local school response to behavioral, social-emotional and health
problems by making available to all school districts federal funding,
under the federal Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities
Act (SDFSCA) program, that is specifically intended for local
school violence and substance abuse prevention activities;

Collaborative initiatives, including:
the Attorney Generals Domestic Security Preparedness Task
Force Infrastructure Advisory Committee-School Sector; the Youth
Gang Prevention and Intervention Project; the Peer Transitions
Program in cooperation with the Department of Health and Senior
Services; co-sponsorship of the Stop the Pain: New Jersey Cares
About Bullying Conference with the Department of Law and Public
Safety; the Truancy Working Group composed of representatives from
the Legislature, the Administrative Office of the Courts and the
Department of Human Services; and collaboration with the Department
of Human Services, the Department of State, Attorney Generals
Education Law Enforcement Working Group, the Violence Institute
of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ),
the New Jersey School Boards Association, the New Jersey Association
of School Administrators, the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors
Association, the New Jersey Education Association, the New Jersey
Pupil Services Administrators Association, the New Jersey Counselors
Association, the Association of Student Assistance Professionals
of New Jersey, the New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies,
the New Jersey Association of School Psychologists and other organizations,
associations and agencies.

The NJDOE is committed to providing
ongoing support for school district efforts to improve their comprehensive
school safety programs and further reduce the levels of violence, vandalism
and substance abuse in New Jersey schools. Continued training opportunities
for both school administrative and support personnel, refinement of
the Internet-based reporting system and analysis of these data will
assist local districts and the NJDOE to accurately track progress in
making schools safe for all students and staff.

In 1982, N.J.S.A. 18:53 (see Appendix A),
was signed into law. The "Public School Safety Law" was a
response to a problem long recognized by the state Legislature, violence
and vandalism in the schools. The law stipulated that:

The Commissioner of Education
shall each year submit a report to the Education Committees of
the Senate and General Assembly detailing the extent of violence
and vandalism in the public schools and making recommendations
to alleviate the problem.
(N.J.S.A. 18:53).

The law has a significant local component:
It requires that school staff who witness or have knowledge of an incident
of violence file a report of the incident with the school principal
and, as amended in 2002, that the superintendent of schools hold a
public hearing in the third week of October summarizing the data submitted
to the department and submit a transcript of the proceedings to the
department.

The Commissioners report provides
the Legislature with data in four broad categories of incidents: violence,
vandalism, weapons and substance abuse. Analysis of trends yields indications
of progress and of concern and provides guidance to the department
as it endeavors to focus its resources appropriately. In this report,
the department also notifies the Legislature and the public of the
actions taken by the Commissioner, State Board of Education and the
Department of Education (DOE) to address the problems indicated in
the data. Since 1994 when the State Board of Education adopted a resolution
supporting implementation of the Department of Educations Safe
Schools Initiative, the department has embarked on various actions
designed to address the problem of school violence and disruption documented
in the incident reporting system. The departments recent actions
under the Safe Schools Initiative are described in the Programmatic
Response section of this report.

Provided below are summary descriptions
of federal and state statutes and regulations that support the need
for accurate and complete data collection under the Electronic Violence
and Vandalism Reporting System (EVVRS). The intent of these requirements
is to support the provision of safety and security for students and
to prevent unnecessary or extended interruptions to student learning.

The data gathered under the EVVRS
are an excellent source of information for helping schools to conduct
comprehensive needs assessments, including the identification of patterns
of incidents (e.g., types, locations, times, individuals or groups
involved) consistent with the statutory and regulatory information
provided below. The identification of priority needs based upon objective
information is the cornerstone of effective planning for appropriate
educational responses to school safety needs.

Under the Gun-Free Schools Act, districts
must report annually the number of firearms incidents that occurred
by type of firearm [rifle, handgun, other (e.g., bomb)] within type
of school (i.e., elementary, middle, high school). In completing information
on each incident as it is entered, each school fulfills its reporting
obligation and need not summarize the data separately at the end of
the year.

The Unsafe School Choice Option provision
(Title IX, Part E, Subpart 2, SEC. 9532) under the federal No
Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 sets forth the following:

Each state receiving funds under this Act shall
establish and implement a statewide policy requiring that a student
attending a persistently dangerous public elementary school or
secondary school, as determined by the State in consultation
with a representative sample of local educational agencies, or who
becomes a victim of a violent criminal offense, as determined
by State law, while in or on the grounds of a public elementary
school or secondary school that the student attends, be allowed to
attend a safe public elementary school or secondary school within
the local educational agency, including a public charter school. (italics
added)

The NJDOEs Unsafe School Choice
Option (USCO) Policy was adopted by resolution by the State Board of
Education in June 2003. The USCO statute and the NJDOEs USCO
policy contain two provisions that apply to local educational agencies
(LEAs) receiving funds under NCLB: 1) persistently dangerous
schools; and 2) victims of violent criminal offenses. Effective the
beginning of each school year, LEAs receiving NCLB funds must be prepared
to complete the transfer of students who choose to exercise the option
offered under Provision I and Provision II of the USCO policy, as appropriate.
Compliance with the policy is a condition of receiving funds under
any and all titles under NCLB. Chief school administrators annually
are required to certify compliance with the NJDOEs USCO policy
in their applications for NCLB funds.

The maintenance of accurate and complete
records of incidents of violence, vandalism and substance abuse is
particularly important since the EVVRS is the data source used by the
NJDOE to determine persistently dangerous schools under the USCO Policy.
Additionally, schools are required to report information on victims
of violent criminal offenses, pursuant to the USCO Policy.

In January 2002, a state law (N.J.S.A. 18A:36-5.1)
was passed designating the third week of October each year as "School
Violence Awareness Week." During this week, school districts are
required to organize activities, such as age-appropriate forums for
student discussions on conflict resolution, as well as issues of student
diversity and tolerance. Also, districts are required to invite law
enforcement personnel who must be invited to join members of the teaching
staff in the discussions. Finally, programs must be provided for school
board employees that are designed to help them recognize warning signs
of school violence and to instruct them on recommended conduct during
an incident of school violence.

In January 2002, a state law (N.J.S.A. 18A:17-46 et
seq.) was passed requiring each chief school administrator to
conduct a public hearing on all acts of violence and vandalism which
occurred in the previous school year. The proceedings of the pubic
hearing must be transcribed and kept on file by the local board of
education, which must make the transcript available to the public.

Verification of the annual report
must be part of the NJDOEs monitoring of the school district.
The local board of education is required to provide ongoing staff training
in fulfilling the reporting requirements pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:17-46.
Additionally, the majority representative of the school employees must
have access monthly to the number and disposition of all reported acts
of school violence and vandalism.

In compliance with N.J.S.A. 18A:17-46 et
seq., the NJDOE has adopted new regulations [N.J.A.C. 6A:16-5.3(f)]
that require district boards of education to impose a penalty on
school employees who knowingly falsify a report of an incident of
violence and vandalism.

Legislation (N.J.S.A. 18A:37-13 et
seq.) enacted in September 2002 required each school district
to adopt a policy prohibiting harassment, intimidation and bullying
on school property, at school-sponsored functions and on school buses
by September 2003. To assist school districts in developing these
policies, the legislation required the NJDOE to develop and issue
a model policy applicable to grades kindergarten through twelve.
The NJDOEs model policy titled Model Policy Prohibiting
Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying on School Property, at School-sponsored
Functions and on School Busses can be found at http://www.state.nj.us/njded/parents/bully.htm.
Schools must report on the EVVRS all incidents of harassment, intimidation
and bullying that apply to the definition of harassment, intimidation
and bullying under the statute.

Each school district is granted local
control over the contents of the policy and ancillary procedures, but,
at a minimum, the ten components set forth in the authorizing statute
must be addressed in a school districts policy prohibiting harassment,
intimidation and bullying. In part, the provisions of the statute require
school districts to stipulate both the consequences and
the remedial actions for persons violating the policy; persons
who engage in reprisal or retaliation against someone who reports a
violation of the policy; and persons who falsely report allegations
of harassment, intimidation and bullying as a means of retaliation
or as a means of harassment, intimidation or bullying.

The NJDOE recognizes that decisions
about consequences and actions to be taken in response to violations
of policies prohibiting harassment, intimidation and bullying should
take into consideration the unique circumstances of the acts and the
persons involved, as well as the unique conditions and characteristics
in each school district. The NJDOE also recognizes that these decisions
must comport with existing school district policies, including those
that address the provisions of N.J.A.C. 6A:16, Programs To
Support Student Development, in general, and N.J.A.C. 6A:16-5.1,
Code of Student Conduct, in particular, as well as the provisions
of the districts Memorandum of Agreement Between Education
and Law Enforcement Officials, pursuant to N.J.A.C..6A:16-6,
Law Enforcement Operations For Substances, Weapons, and Safety.

The State Board of Education approved
a new Chapter of administrative code entitled Programs to Support
Student Development (N.J.A.C. 6A:16) in April 2001. The
chapter includes new subchapters that address school safety issues,
including:

Codes of student conduct;

Emergency and crisis management
plans;

Incident reporting;

Access to juvenile information;

Firearms, weapons and assault
offenses; and

Law enforcement operations for
substances, weapons and safety.

The regulations also contain subchapters
on comprehensive substance abuse programs, substance abuse intervention,
reporting allegations of child abuse and neglect, intervention and
referral services, alternative education, home or out-of-school instruction
for general education students and school health services.

Districts have reported incidents
over the Internet for five years.4 The
Electronic Violence and Vandalism Reporting System, http://homeroom.state.nj.us (EVVRS),
deployed in March 2000, requires districts to report electronically
information about individual incidents  including offender and
victim information. An EVVRS User Manual, accessible on the EVVRS homepage,
contains general guidance for reporting and incident definitions, e.g.,
what constitutes a simple assault, aggravated assault, a fight. The
data entered and verified by districts on the EVVRS form the basis
of the Findings section of this report to the state legislature and
of the report to the federal education department on the Unsafe School
Choice Option policy.

____________________4For a description of changes to the reporting system
pre-dating the Internet-based system, see this report for the school
year 2000-2001, available at http://www.state.nj.us/njded/atoz.htm#V____________________

Changes were made to incident definitions
in the EVVRS for the 2003-04 school year. As noted above, the State
Board of Education adopted the Unsafe School Choice
Option Policy (USCO) in June, 2003 and reissued the policy a year
later. Provision I defines criteria for identifying "persistently
dangerous schools" and Provision II describes conditions leading
to the determination that a student has been the victim of a violent
criminal offense. Provision II, in particular, influenced changes in
the incident definitions through its requirement that the offenses
counted under this provision were those enumerated in the state criminal
code. NJDOE staff reviewed definitions to determine their match with
the definitions of "violent criminal offenses" in the state
criminal code. The following EVVRS definitions were revised in varying
degrees to bring them into alignment with those in the code: Violence
(Fight, Gang Fight, Sex Offense, and Threat); Vandalism (Arson); and
Weapons (Possession of a Firearm, Assault with a Weapon, and Possession
of a Weapon). In order to include all types of "violent criminal
offense" in the EVVRS, three new types of violence incidents were
added: Terroristic Threat, Kidnapping and Harassment/intimidation/bullying. Appendix
B lists incident definitions, displaying both versions (2002-03 and
2003-04).

The department recognizes that individuals
interpret and apply the definitions in the EVVRS User Manual differently.
For example, one student calls a second student a name; the second
student pushes in return and the two begin to tussle. They stop when
a security guard intervenes. One district might consider it a scuffle
and not report it on the EVVRS, while another may consider it a fight
sufficiently serious to report. The department recognizes that this
kind of difference in perspective introduces "error" into
the system, i.e., a departure from the true number that would be reported
if everyone interpreted and applied the definitions in the same way.
Therefore, there may be variability in reporting across districts.
Additionally, a shift in responsibility for reporting within a school
or district can produce changes in violence and vandalism figures reported
year to year and, thus, represents another potential source of inaccuracy.

To reduce errors and promote consistency
in reporting, the department created "scenarios" for those
types of incidents that, due to their particular circumstances, invite
discrete differences in interpretation. The scenarios describe incidents
within the context in which they occur and provide factors to consider
in selecting the correct incident category. The revised incident definitions
and the scenarios were distributed to all chief school administrators,
included in the revised EVVRS User Manual, posted separately on the
EVVRS homepage, and discussed during the EVVRS training sessions. During
its annual EVVRS training for district administrators and EVVRS account
users conducted in the spring of 2004 and winter of 2004-05, the department
stressed the importance of districts referring to these two documents
when deciding whether an incident is the type to be reported on the
EVVRS and, if so, how to classify it. The importance of including offender
and victim information  particularly the information on USCO
Provision II  received special attention in the EVVRS training
and in notices e-mailed to all EVRS account users during the 2003-04
school year.

This report provides unduplicated
counts of incidents for the total number of incidents and the total
by major reporting category. The total for the four incident categories
will not necessarily add up to the grand total of all incidents. Beginning
with the introduction of the EVVRS in 1999-2000, if a single incident
included a threat and a simple assault, for example, each type is recorded
and counted. In deriving a total for the number of incidents of violence,
however, the incident that included both a threat and a simple assault
would be counted once. Similarly, in calculating an unduplicated total
of the number of incidents, an incident that included a fight and damage
to property would count as one incident, as well as one incident of
violence and one incident of vandalism. Thus, totals, as indicated,
are unduplicated counts of the number of incidents within a category.
A bias incident that included violence and vandalism would be counted
as one bias incident in addition to being counted in the two major
reporting categories.

The following analysis examines differences
in the number of incidents by the type (i.e., grade range) of the school.
For the purposes of this analysis, an elementary school is defined
as any school that ends at grade 6 or below; a middle school is any
school that terminates in the 7 through 9 grade range, and a high school
is defined as any school that terminates at grade 10 or above. Charter
schools are included and are categorized in the same manner. Schools
in special services school districts with only students with disabilities
had no data on grade range available, so their data along with those
of adult evening high schools, are included under "Other" in
the chart below.

Figure 1 below shows the modest increase
in the number of incidents occurring in elementary schools and the
decrease in middle and high schools over the past two school years.
In 2003-04, more than half the incidents (53 percent) took place in
high schools (an increase of four percent), one third (33 percent)
occurred in middle schools, 12 percent in elementary schools and 3
percent in special services schools and adult evening high schools.

The distribution of incidents across
schools has remained stable. Again in 2003-04, one school in three
(34 percent) reported no incidents. When one includes this group with
no incidents, nearly seven schools in ten (69 percent) reported five
or fewer incidents. Six to ten incidents occurred in ten percent of
schools, 11-24 in 12 percent and 25 or more in 10 percent (down from
12 percent in 2002-03) of all schools.

Header information is the data that
a district records for every incident and includes:

the date and time of the incident;

the location of the incident
(optional field);

whether police were notified
and if a complaint was filed; and

whether bias was involved.

The date and time data are primarily for local use
and were not analyzed. The distribution of data on the location of
incidents is nearly identical to that reported for 2002-2003 (see Table
1). Three incidents in ten occurred in the classroom, while overall,
three in four (76%) occurred inside the school building.

*
Districts are not required to provide information on the location
of incidents.

Police were notified in a greater proportion of incidents
in 2003-04. Notification occurred in 38 percent of all incidents reported
by districts, an increase from 35 percent in 2002-03 and 32 percent
two years earlier, 2001-2002. Complaints were filed either by the district,
parent or student in half the cases about which police were notified.

Figure 3 displays the total unduplicated
count of incidents by each of the four major reporting categories for
the past two years. There were fewer incidents of violence (a decline
of 11 percent); this decline is particularly notable in view of the
addition of three types of violence (harassment/intimidation/bullying,
terroristic threat and kidnapping). There was a nine percent decrease
in incidents of vandalism, and a small increase in weapons offenses
(three percent), and a four percent decrease in substance offenses.

The overall 11 percent decrease in
violence is indicated most markedly in the declines in the following
types of violence: simple assaults (24 percent), fights (12 percent),
sex offenses (45 percent) and threats (20 percent). There was one incident
of kidnapping (not shown in Table 3). In the vandalism category, the
10 percent decrease in damage to property and seven percent decrease
in thefts constitute the most notable changes. The increase in the
possession, assault with, or sale/distribution of, weapons other than
firearms is reflected in increases in the number of incidents involving
air guns, imitation guns and knives (see Appendix D). The change in
the total for firearms is reflected in the increase in incidents of
possession of a handgun from nine in 2002-03 to 14 in 2003-04.

Overall, there was a four percent
decrease in the number of incidents of possession, use or distribution
of substances. There were 50 fewer incidents involving marijuana (a
decline of three percent), and 27 fewer incidents involving drug paraphernalia
(a decline of 24 percent). There were 33 more substance incidents involving
cocaine (50 percent increase). The most frequently abused drug was
marijuana, involved in 66 percent of all substance abuse incidents
(see Appendix D).

In 90 percent of the cases where
a disciplinary action was taken, students who committed an offense
received an out-of-school suspension. Removal to an alternative program
was used in two percent of the cases. These percentages are consistent
with the data from 2002-2003 (see Table 4).

Half of the out-of-school suspensions
(45 percent) were for less than five days; 21 percent were for 10 days
or more (see Figure 5). The most frequently issued single suspension
was that of five days  used in 4,810cases (24 percent) in 2003-04.

Figure 6 displays the types of alternative
placements selected by districts when students were removed from school
for disciplinary reasons. Of the 199 students placed in an out-of-district
program in 2003-04, 25 attended a county alternative education program
- ten more than in 2002-03.

In 2003-2004, regular education students
constituted 73 percent of the offenders in the cases where the offender
was known. Students with disabilities, who represent 16 percent of
the student population, constituted slightly more than one quarter
(27 percent) of offenders. The proportions are similar to those of
2002-2003. See Table 5.

Regular education students constituted
a smaller percentage of victims in 2003-04 (61 percent) than in 2002-03
(64 percent). The data in Table 6 also show a nine percent decline
in the number of school staff (includes contracted staff) who were
victims of an offense of any kind, the second consecutive year that
the number of staff victimized has shown a decline. The percentage
of students with a disability who were victims (18 percent) nearly
mirrors their percentage (16 percent) in the student population.

The 2003-04 school year was the first
year during which districts reported incidents of harassment, intimidation,
and bullying on the EVVRS. Those incidents that were to be reported
had to meet the criteria specified in the definition (see below), a
definition that is based upon criminal statute (N.J.S.A. 2C:16-1(a)
:

Any gesture or written, verbal or physical act
that is reasonably perceived as being motivated either by any actual
or perceived characteristic, such as race, color, religion, ancestry,
national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and
expression, or a mental, physical or sensory handicap, or by any
other distinguishing characteristic, that takes place on school property,
at any school -sponsored function or on a school bus and that:

a) a reasonable person should know,
under the circumstances, will have the effect of harming a student
or damaging the students property; or b) has the effect of
insulting or demeaning any student or group of students in such a
way as to cause substantial disruption in, or substantial interference
with, the orderly operation of the school.

Thus, in order to be reported on
the EVVRS, a bullying incident, for example, would not be reported
if the victim failed to possess a distinguishing characteristic; nor
would the bullying incident be reported where a) the victim possessed
a distinguishing characteristic yet the incident did not cause harm
or damage to the students property; or b) the act did not cause
substantial interference or disruption with the orderly operation of
the school. Only incidents that meet the criteria are to be reported.

A total of 1,187 incidents of harassment/intimidation/bullying
were reported in 2003-04. Some of these incidents occurred in conjunction
with other incidents: assault (71), threat (68), sex offense (12),
robbery/extortion (9), and damage to property (7). Close to half the
incidents (530 or 45 percent) occurred in middle schools, 472 (40 percent)
in high schools and 170 (14 percent) in elementary schools. These 1,187
incidents took place in only 97, or four percent of all schools, an
average of 12 incidents per school.

The total number of incidents of
20,207 represents a decrease of 1,979 incidents or nine percent from
the total of 22,186 reported in 2002-2003. As noted in the Executive Summary, this change must be interpreted
with caution as follows:

three new types of violent incidents
were added to the EVVRS (terroristic threat, kidnapping and harassment/intimidation/bullying);
and

two districts experienced major
declines in the number of incidents reported. Camden City Public
Schools and Trenton School District reported 849 and 403 fewer
incidents respectively. The total of 1,252 fewer incidents reported
by these two districts accounts for 63 percent of the decline in
the overall statewide total.

Despite these changes and the decline
in three of the four incident categories, the data in this Findings
section again show certain consistencies. Where incidents occur, the
frequency with which police are involved, the number of schools reporting
a given number of incidents, the districts disciplinary response
and the type of student involved change very little year to year. This
consistency suggests that some of the factors that influence the occurrence
of violence, vandalism and substance abuse in schools are general and,
to an extent, constant.

Although the NJDOE recognizes that
there is interdistrict variation in the categorization and reporting
of reporting incidents, the department remains optimistic that the
recent revision of the incident definitions, the development of the
incident scenarios and the expanded training for district personnel
will bring greater uniformity to the reporting process. Because of
this interdistrict variation, however, it is inappropriate, at this
time, to compare data between or among districts. The department uses
the data to analyze trends to determine the types of programs needed
and to measure progress in its efforts to assist districts in creating
safe learning environments for all students. With consistent reporting,
districts can use trend data in conjunction with other information
on student conduct to gauge the success of their prevention programs
and intervention strategies that address identified problems and patterns.

New Jerseys schools are basically
safe places, despite perceptions cultivated by terrible tragedies that
have occurred in our nations schools, including Littleton, Colorado
in 1999, as well as the threat to our homeland security with the events
of September 11, 2001. School districts and the state have implemented
programmatic responses to foster school safety at all points of the
continuum, from prevention through crisis response and recovery. Comprehensive
responses include the following: developing clearly defined student
behavior policies and codes of student conduct; assessing the immediate
surroundings, as well as the social and emotional learning climate
of the school community; developing an emergency and crisis management
plan with clearly defined plans, procedures and mechanisms for responding
to emergencies and crises; implementing research-based prevention and
intervention programs; and planning for the effective use of available
community resources.

The NJDOE has aggressively pursued
a variety of policy and program strategies to address the problem of
disruption and violence since the beginning of the Safe Schools
Initiative in 1994. The following is a summary of the department's
most recent efforts to strengthen the assistance offered to school
districts to increase school safety and reduce school violence.

The chapter of administrative code
titled Programs to Support Student Development (N.J.A.C.
6A:16) adopted by the State Board of Education in April 2001 specifies
minimum standards for district boards of education in establishing
policies and procedures and in operating programs to support the social,
emotional and physical development of students.

The NJDOE proposed to the State Board
of Education in October of 2004, regulations on student conduct as
a subchapter of the chapter of administrative code titled Programs
to Support Student Development (N.J.A.C. 6A:16) and proposed
technical amendments to subchapters on school safety, law enforcement
operations for substances, weapons and safety and intervention and
referral services.

A working group was established within
the NJDOE to review student discipline in response to issues that were
raised during the public comments on N.J.A.C. 6A:16, Programs
to Support Student Development. A major activity of the working
group was the administration of nine policy forums in the fall of 2001
that were designed to engage representatives from statewide education
associations and constituency groups in identifying a broad range of
student discipline concerns and possible remedies for department consideration.
The following recommendations have been or are in the process of being
implemented:

Development of a regulatory framework
for student discipline.

In response to this recommendation,
a student discipline code discussion paper was approved by the
State Board of Education for dissemination and comment. In October
2004,regulations on student conduct were proposed to the
State Board of Education as a subchapter of the chapter of administrative
code titled Programs to Support Student Development (N.J.A.C.
6A:16). The proposed regulations are scheduled for adoption in
August 2005.

Convening an advisory panel to
explore consistent uses of programs and policies regarding alternative
education for general education students who are suspended or expelled
from school.

As a result of this recommendation,
the NJDOE convened the advisory panel, and the findings of the
panel are under consideration by the departments internal
working group on student discipline.

The NJDOE is considering implementation
of the remaining recommendations below from the student discipline
policy forums, which would be implemented subsequent to the adoption
of proposed N.J.A.C.6A:16-7, Student Conduct:

As a condition for receiving funds
under the federal NoChild Left Behind Act (NCLB), the
NJDOE was required to establish and implement a statewide policy requiring
that students attending persistently dangerous schools or who become
victims of violent criminal offenses while in or on the school grounds
that they attend be allowed to transfer to a safe public school within
the local educational agency. The NJDOEs policy was adopted by
resolution by the State Board of Education in June 2003. All local
educational agencies receiving NCLB funds must comply with the provisions
of the policy, as appropriate.

In November 2004 and February 2005,
the Unsafe School Choice Option Policy Advisory Panel was reconvened
to review the existing policy and consider modifications.

To assist school districts in developing
the required harassment, intimidation and bullying policies, the authorizing
statute (N.J.S.A. 18A:37-13 et seq.) required the New
Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) to develop and issue a model
policy applicable to grades kindergarten through twelve. The NJDOEs
model policy was developed and disseminated in December 2002 and can
be found at the following Web Site: http://www.state.nj.us/njded/parents/bully.htm.

The NJDOE has provided guidelines
and information to local boards of education for use in planning the
activities that are required (N.J.S.A. 18:36-5.1) in observance
of the week for each year the requirement has been in effect. The guidelines
can be found at: http://www.state.nj.us/njded/students/safety/violence.htm.

For each year the requirement (N.J.S.A. 18A:17-46)
has been in effect, the NJDOE has provided guidelines and information
to local boards of education for complying with the statute and submitting
the required documentation to the NJDOE. The guidelines in effect for
the 2004-2005 school year can be found at the following website: http://www.state.nj.us/njded/students/safety/violence.htm

Regulations for alternative education
programs have been adopted as Subchapter eight of N.J.A.C. 6A:16,
Programs to Support Student Development. The provisions within N.J.A.C. 6A:16-8
regulate the application process and approval criteria for the operation
of alternative education programs. The department disseminated a revised
guidance document titled A Guide and Application for the Operation
and Approval of Alternative Education Programs in the 2003-2004
school year.

A working group has been established
to review alternative education program requirements and propose modifications
to strengthen this delivery system. The NJDOE will consider the recommendations
of this group during its comprehensive review of N.J.A.C. 6A:16
beginning in July 2005.

The capacity for local school response
to behavioral, social-emotional and health problems is supplemented
by federal funding provided specifically for school violence and substance
abuse prevention activities. Under the federal Safe and Drug-Free
Schools and Communities Act (SDFSCA) program, a total of $7.8 million
dollars was provided through the New Jersey Department of Education
(NJDOE) to local districts for this purpose in 2004-2005.

Data on programs reported to the
NJDOE by districts indicate that educators have matched the types of
violence with appropriately designed plans and programs. They have
put in place emergency and crisis management plans and have purchased
security devices to provide a surveillance capacity to protect against
intruders. They also have put in place specific programs to enhance
their ability to intervene early when students are disruptive. For
example, in the 2002-2003 school year, 349, or 60 percent of school
districts reported implementing conflict resolution programs and 312
districts reported delivering violence prevention instruction using
SDFSCA funds (up from 266 in 2001-2002) . Additional violence-related
activity funded under SDFSCA included the purchase of security equipment
(40 districts), the use of security personnel (20 districts) and illegal
gang prevention activities (57 districts).

The standards provide a strong focus
on bullying and violence prevention strategies, with a clear emphasis
on character education. Topical strands infused in each of the
Core Curriculum Content Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical
Education help teachers locate specific content and skills related
to violence prevention skills. The standards are further defined
by progress indicators at grades two, four, six, eight and twelve.

The Curriculum Framework for
Health and Physical Education (1999), which can be found at http://www.state.nj.us/education/archive/frameworks/chpe/index.html,
includes 140 suggested sample lessons for educators to use to address
topics related to violence prevention and positive social and emotional
development. The New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards
in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education provide an age-appropriate
and culturally sensitive focus that helps students develop the knowledge
and skills that lead to healthy, active lifestyles.

The Intervention and Referral Services
(I&RS) Initiative supports implementation of the I&RS regulations
(N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7) by providing technical assistance to districts
for the establishment of building-based (grades K-12) multidisciplinary
problem-solving teams that are designed to assist students who are
experiencing learning, behavior or health difficulties and to assist
staff who have difficulties in addressing students learning,
behavior or health needs. The technical assistance provided by NJDOE
includes a four-part videotape series and accompanying companion guide
and flyer; a comprehensive Resource Manual for Intervention and
Referral Services; and the provision of training to prepare building
administrators and building-based teams to implement the I&RS regulations.
The videotapes were disseminated to all school districts in June 1999,
and will be updated for dissemination in the 2004-2005 school year.
The original Resource Manual, which was distributed to districts
in February 2000, was updated to reflect the provisions of the new
regulations and was forwarded to schools in January 2003 and reissued
in October 2004. Approximately 480 building-based teams have been trained
since April 2000. In addition to providing annual team training, 120
school staff who were added to their schools I&RS teams were
provided training in the 2004-2005 school year. Plans are under way
to develop supplemental training programs specifically designed to
address the ongoing professional development needs of I&RS teams,
in accordance with the provisions of N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.2(a)4
and 6A:16-7.2(a)5.

The New Jersey Department of Education
(NJDOE) has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the
Violence Institute of New Jersey (VINJ) at the University of Medicine
and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) to assist the NJDOE in administering,
implementing and evaluating a research-based approach to school safety,
including student discipline and positive student development, in three
New Jersey school districts. The goal of the three-year project is
to create safety and order in participating schools without unnecessarily
excluding students. The project involves the implementation of comprehensive
and science-based safety and discipline policies and practices that
include prevention, intervention, referral and continuity of care programs,
services and activities that maximize supportive school responses to
student concerns and minimize the use of student exclusion from school
as a disciplinary tool. In project year one (2003-2004), all three
districts completed needs assessments, provided orientations for district
staff and developed program plans in consultation with a representative
group of school and community members. In project year two (2004-2005),
the participating districts have begun implementing program plans,
including the provision of leadership trainings for administrators
and selecting and implementing comprehensive frameworks to support
programs currently in place.

New Jersey was the first state in
the nation to provide state aid funding to implement character education
programs and services through the New Jersey Character Education Partnership
(NJCEP) initiative. For the fourth year (2003-2004) of the initiative,
the Governors FY2004 budget provided $4.75 million for school
district character education program implementation and expansion.
The purpose of NJCEP is to help public school educators to adopt validated
character education programs that will meet the developmental needs
of students throughout New Jersey by promoting pro-social student behaviors
and creating a caring, disciplined school climate conducive to learning.
The public school districts that participated during the 2002-2003
submitted data along with a narrative on program outcomes. The Report
on Year-Three Outcomes is available at http://www.nj.gov/njded/chared/outcomes.

In 2003, the national Character Education
Partnership (CEP) recognized eight New Jersey schools for their outstanding
character education programs. This national recognition demonstrates
the success of the sustained emphasis New Jersey has brought to character
education over the past eight years. Additionally, CEP presented one
of New Jerseys schools with the National School of Character
award for demonstrating outstanding character education initiatives
that yield positive results in student behavior, school climate and
academic performance.

In March 2004, the New Jersey Department
of Education (NJDOE), Office of Program Support Services (OPSS), hosted
Tsunenobu Ban, a visiting professor from Japan, his wife, Kyoka Ban,
lecturer of education, and professor Bans graduate student, Hiroko
Tanaka. Professor Ban contacted the NJDOE requesting the visit because
of New Jerseys commitment to the statewide implementation of
character education.

In May 2004, three regional character
education conferences for public and nonpublic schools were offered,
emphasizing school reform, curriculum infusion using the New Jersey
Core Curriculum Content Standards and programs based on scientific
research. The conferences were sponsored by the New Jersey Center for
Character Education (NJCCE), in collaboration with the Passaic County
Office of Education, the Somerset County Office of Education and the
Educational Information and Resource Center (ERIC).

In 2002, New Jersey was one of only
five states to receive a four-year federal grant award under the Partnerships
in Character Education grant program (Title V, Part D of the No
Child Left Behind Act). Under this grant, New Jersey has created
the New Jersey Center for Character Education (NJCCE) at the Center
for Applied Psychology in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional
Psychology, Rutgers University. During the 2003-2004 school year, the
NJCCE continued to provide in-depth technical assistance and support
and opportunities for professional development and skill enhancement
to public and nonpublic schools throughout the state. The creation
of the NJCCE has provided the leadership necessary to take New Jerseys
character education effort to a new level by providing guidance for
schools to adopt programs and strategies that have been proven to be
effective.

The NJCCE continues to provide ten
demonstration sites at local educational agencies (LEAs) with intensive
evaluation services. The demonstration sites represent the diversity
of New Jerseys schools and their experiences with school reform
efforts. Two of the participating LEAs are the state-operated districts
of Jersey City and Paterson. The remaining eight LEAs (Woodbridge Township,
Westwood Regional, Cape May County Special Services, Hunterdon Central
Regional, Cherry Hill, Monroe Township, Highland Park and Plainfield)
were selected as a result of a competitive application process. Additionally,
the NJCCE continues to utilize an expert panel to assist in the implementation
of an evaluation plan for the program. The expert panel also will provide
recommendations to the collaborating LEAs regarding the most effective
strategies for conducting research and implementing scientifically
based program strategies.

Under a memorandum of understanding
between the NJDOE and the Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC), the following
gang-related programs and services have been provided during the 2004-2005
school year: gang prevention and education to students in Newark, Trenton
and Camden who are at high risk for involvement in gang activity, utilizing
a curriculum developed in Phase I of the project; development of curriculum
for community-based organizations to assist them in developing and
maintaining community "safety nets" for gang-involved youth
who are under the jurisdiction of the JJCs transitional services;
three regional gang awareness conferences for school personnel, community
members and organizations; and professional development programs on
gang issues for Juvenile Justice Commission staff, county youth services
commission staff and members, county juvenile detention center personnel
and juvenile peer facilitators.

Under this project, supportive services
were provided to 10 school districts interested in refining or reforming
their student services programs. A contract was awarded to MGT of America,
Inc. to provide technical support services to participating districts
to assist them in evaluating existing student support services, assessing
the support needs of students, and designing and implementing the optimum
configuration and systems for delivering and sustaining student support
services for their school populations. The foundation of the project
was the self-study undertaken by each district, which encompasses the
identification of existing programs, the analysis of student services
in relation to identified student needs, the assessment of effectiveness
and efficiency of existing programs and recommendations for reforming
or refining these programs.

The two-year effort, which began
July 1, 2002, offered each participating district an incentive grant
of approximately $5,000 per year to help support district participation;
provide substantial technical assistance from a consultant contractor;
and implement a collegial process for evaluation, review and revision
of how student services were organized, staffed and delivered. The
districts were selected based on an articulation agreement with the
NJDOEs Office of School to Career and College Initiatives, which
initiated a complementary project with pilot sites under the New Jersey
School Counseling Initiative. Exemplary work resulting from the initiative
and best practices in student support services were showcased at a
statewide conference in May 2004.

In December 2003, the department
convened a work group comprised of district personnel and department
staff from each county. The purpose of this workgroup was to assist
the department in updating the Guide and Application for the Operation
and Approval of Alternative Education Programs. The updated document
can be found at www.nj.gov/njded/students/safety/behavior/programs.shtml.

This project is designed to reduce
factors that place students at risk for substance abuse and other negative
behaviors as they transition from middle school to high school. Under
an interagency agreement, NJDOE has provided a fifth year of funding
to the Division of Addiction Services (DAS) to expand the Peer Transitions
Project. Utilizing learning stations, peer educators provide students
with information and facilitate discussions on issues (e.g., substance
abuse prevention, avoiding gangs, bullying prevention, coping) that
will help students make successful transitions to high school. The
project builds upon the existing network of peer leadership programs
in New Jersey that has been established under the New Jersey Middle
School Peer-to-Peer Program, a collaborative effort among NJDOE, DAS,
the Governors Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse and the Department
of Law and Public Safety.

Under a grant from the United States
Department of Education, the NJDOE provided a resource manual titled Time
Out for Service: A Manual on Community Service for Suspended and Expelled
Students, as well as videotapes of a conference that was held in
the spring of 2004 to provide information to school staff and community
members on the use of community services for suspended and expelled
students. Currently, the NJDOE is partnering with Rutgers University
and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey for the
provision of direct services to approximately 20 schools to help them
coordinate and implement programs under which students who are suspended,
expelled or otherwise removed from school perform community service.
The goal of the overall program is to provide suspended and expelled
students with meaningful activities to occupy their time during their
absences from school; to help them avoid negative behaviors; and to
teach them the value of service to others and their communities.

As required by of N.J.S.A. C.2C:43-3.5
and N.J.S.A. C.54A:9-25.12 et seq. a Drug Abuse Education Fund (D.A.E.F.)
was established from portions of taxpayer-designated refunds and penalties
assessed against individuals adjudicated or convicted of certain crimes.
The resources accumulated in the fund are appropriated annually to
NJDOE for distribution to non-governmental entities for the use of
law enforcement personnel in providing drug abuse education to students
in grades K-12 on a statewide basis. Under the appropriation for these
statutory provisions, the NJDOE issued a grant to D.A.R.E. New Jersey,
Inc. for the third year of services for the 2004-2005 school year.

The goal of this program, which
concluded in October 2004, was to help school-age children and adolescents
in the Asbury Park, Camden City and Elizabeth school districts, who
were identified as at risk for involvement in the juvenile justice
system, to remain in school or return to school and achieve the Core
Curriculum Content Standards. The program was designed to address the
identified academic and nonacademic needs of participating at-risk
youth and their families by providing districtwide programs that include
individual and group counseling, academic instruction, parent and family
participation and outreach, and alcohol, tobacco and other drug prevention
and intervention programs and services.

In response to the Attorney Generals
Domestic Security Preparedness Task Force Infrastructure Advisory Committee-School
Sector, the NJDOE developed and disseminated to all chief school administrators
in September 2004 a comprehensive manual, titled School Safety Manual:
Best Practices Guidelines. The manual, provided to chief school
administrators in secure form, is designed to provide in-depth guidance
for the establishment of plans, procedures and mechanisms for responding
to emergencies and crises, in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A:16-5.2.
It also offers information on conducting risk analyses and implementing
comprehensive strategies for preventing and intervening with high-risk
behavior and for promoting safe school learning environments. Training
will be offered to school staff in support of the manual.

In support of the School Safety
Manual, interdepartmental meetings were held to develop a uniform
checklist that will be used to help schools identify key safety and
security elements. Schools will be asked to use the checklist
to perform self-assessments to identify areas of need. Additionally,
this checklist will be used by state and local law enforcement officials
to conduct on-site audits designed to assess the current state of
security in our schools, as stipulated in Acting Governor Codys
recent State of the State address. These audits are planned
to be completed in every school prior to Labor Day 2005. Training
on the use of the checklist and the associated database will be provided
the county and district level staff.

One of the responsibilities of administering
the federal Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act (SDFSCA)
funds is to support the requirement for school districts to adopt programs
that have a scientific research base, as a way of implementing the
Principles of Effectiveness that schools are required to use as the
basis for planning and selecting programs funded under SDFSCA. The
NJDOE plans to sponsor a statewide conference in May 2005 for developers
of programs designated as promising by the United States Department
of Education to showcase their programs to New Jersey educators. The
presentations and conference proceedings will be videotaped and copies
will be disseminated to all New Jersey school districts in the fall
of 2005.

Under a grant from the United States
Department of Education, the NJDOE plans to provide a statewide conference
in May 2005, addressing the use of community services for students
suspended or expelled from school. A documentary video of the program
will be provided to all districts in the fall of 2005.

Trainings were provided at the following
events in the 2003-2004 school year to help school staff fulfill the
requirements (N.J.S.A. 18A:37-13 et seq.) for addressing
harassment, intimidation and bullying: Principals Training sponsored
by the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association; Thirty-third
Annual School Law Forum sponsored by the New Jersey School Boards Association;
Bullying Conference sponsored by the New Jersey Law Center; and No
Child Left Behind Regional Information sessions sponsored by the New
Jersey Department of Education.

Regional trainings were provided
to school staff in the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 school years to assist
districts in fulfilling their requirement (N.J.S.A. 18A:17-46)
to report acts of violence. Specifically, training was provided in
the federal and state requirements related to the EVVRS, the accurate
reporting of offenses consistent with the published definition of the
offenses, and the use of the electronic reporting system.

Staff from approximately 480 schools
have been trained in the establishment of building-based teams of intervention
and referral services (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7) since April 2000, with
60 of the schools receiving training in the 2003-2004 school year.
In addition to providing annual team training, 80 school staff who
were added to their schools intervention and referral services
(I&RS) teams were trained in 2003-2004. Orientations to the I&RS
regulations and best practices for I&RS implementation were provided
in the 2003-2004 school year at events sponsored by the Special Education
Advisory Council, the New Jersey Association of Pupil Personnel Services
Administrators, the New Jersey Association of Federal Program Administrators,
the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association, the Southern
Regional Office of the New Jersey Department of Education and the Student
Support Services Conference of the New Jersey Department of Education.

Training was provided at events
sponsored by the following organizations in the 2003-2004 school year
to help school staff fulfill the requirements of the Unsafe School
Choice Option Policy: Principals Training, sponsored by the New
Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association; Thirty-third Annual
School Law Forum, sponsored by the New Jersey School Boards Association;
and No Child Left Behind Regional Information sessions, sponsored by
the New Jersey Department of Education.

The NJDOE continues to provide technical
support programs and services for the implementation of the regulations
addressing school safety, violence, substance abuse and health services
found in N.J.A.C. 6A:16, Programs to Support Student Development
and related statutes. The department also provides assistance to schools
in the effective implementation of the Principles of Effectiveness
required under the federal Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities
Act.

In support of the Intervention and
Referral Services regulations (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7), the Resource
Manual was reprinted and made available to districts in October 2004.
The manual is posted at: http://www.state.nj.us/njded/students/irs/.

In November 2001, the NJDOE, in support
of the "Strategic Plan for SystemicImprovement of Education
in New Jersey" established by the State Board of Education, developed
and disseminated A Guide for the Development of a Districtwide School
Safety Plan. The purpose of the guide is to provide New Jersey
schools with background information for addressing school safety in
a comprehensive manner.

The guide provides school staff with
a general framework for planning and an inventory of supportive resources
for the development of comprehensive school safety plans and programs
designed to effect positive behavior in schools in order to ensure
safe school climates. It describes a continuum of strategies and activities
that are vital to the establishment of safe and secure educational
environments, including the physical makeup of school buildings, prevention
and intervention programs and services, community involvement, and
responding in the aftermath of a crisis. The publication was distributed
to all county superintendents and is also posted at: http://www.state.nj.us/njded/educators/school_safety_man.

In response to a directive from
the Domestic Security Preparedness Task Force, the NJDOE, under the
guidance of the Infrastructure Advisory Committee - School Sector.
developed and disseminated to all chief school administrators in September
2004 a comprehensive manual titled School Safety Manual: Best Practices
Guidelines. The manual, submitted to chief school administrators
as a secure document, is designed to provide a broad range of information,
including prevention and early intervention programs and strategies,
community-wide planning and coordination, risk assessment strategies,
target hardening of school facilities and in-depth guidance for the
establishment of plans, procedures and mechanisms for responding to
emergencies and crises, in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A:16-5.2.

This conference, planned for May
2005, is intended to feature developers of programs throughout the
country designated as promising by the United States Department of
Education. The presentations and conference proceedings are planned
to be videotaped, and copies of the videotape will be disseminated
to all New Jersey school districts in the fall of 2005.

To assist school districts in developing
and adopting harassment, intimidation and bullying policies, as required
under N.J.S.A. 18A:37-13 et seq.,the NJDOE was
required to develop and issue a model policy applicable to grades kindergarten
through twelve. The model policy can be found at: http://www.state.nj.us/njded/parents/bully.

The Attorney General and the Commissioner
of Education in 1999 issued a revised Uniform State Memorandum of
Agreement between Education and Law Enforcement Officials. Sections
on weapons offenses, bias crimes and sexual harassment have been included
in the revised memorandum. Requirements for the memorandum are set
forth in the subchapter of administrative code, Law Enforcement
Operations for Substances, Weapons and Safety (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-6).
The memorandum, which is reviewed and signed annually by local education
and law enforcement officials, forms the basis for sharing information
between education and law enforcement representatives and sets parameters
for law enforcement investigations. The Attorney Generals Education
and Law Enforcement Working Group intends to revise the memorandum
to make it consistent with new statutes and regulations and to clarify
and update issues and procedures, as appropriate. The model memorandum
of agreement can be found at: www.state.nj.us/lps/dcj/pdfs/agree.pdf.

In response to the terrorist attacks
on September 11, 2001, Governor McGreevey created the Domestic Security
Preparedness Task Force, which is chaired by the Attorney Generals
office and includes representatives from all state agencies. As a result
of task force planning, a committee was formed to specifically address
the unique needs of schools for responding to potential attacks and
threats. The school sector committee made recommendations to be considered
for implementation in the 2004-2005 school year, including the development
of a publication titled School Safety Manual: Best Practices Guidelines.
The manual was disseminated to all chief school administrators as a
secure document in September 2004.

In support of the School Safety
Manual, interdepartmental meetings, including representatives
from NJDOE, the Attorney Generals office, the State Police,
the state and county offices of counterterrorism, the state and county
offices of emergency management, county prosecutors, county superintendents
and other state agencies, were held to develop a uniform checklist
that will be used to help schools identify and assess needs regarding
key safety and security elements. Additionally, the checklist will
be used by state and local law enforcement officials to conduct on-site
audits designed to assess the current state of security in all New
Jersey schools, as stipulated in Acting Governor Codys recent
State-of-the-State address. These audits are planned to be
completed in every school prior to Labor Day 2005.

A working group composed of representatives
from the Legislature, the NJDOE, the Administrative Office of the Courts
and the Department of Human Services has made recommendations regarding
practices for addressing truancy issues on the part of schools, courts
and human service agencies. A truancy survey was administered to a
sample of school districts in the spring of 2003 to collect information
on existing practices in response to student truancy. Recommendations
of the task force have been included in the proposed regulations on
student attendance at N.J.A.C 6A:16-7.8.

One of the conclusions to be drawn
from the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 and national school
tragedies, such as the Littleton, Colorado incident, is that schools
should examine how they collaborate with local mental health agencies.
The effective use of student support services staff and the development
of relationships between them and mental health providers are important
components of schools' responses to violence. Therefore, the NJDOE
continues to forge links between New Jersey schools and mental health
providers to establish effective working relationships, identify areas
of concern and consider strategies for improving the delivery of student
support services.

Specifically, NJDOE staff continues
to serve on the New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of
Mental Health Services statewide infrastructure advisory group
on mental health services. They also collaborate with the leadership
of the Association of Student Assistance Professionals of New Jersey
(ASAPNJ), the New Jersey Association of School Psychologists (NJASP)
and the New Jersey School Counselors Association. Representatives of
these organizations serve on advisory committees for NJDOE projects,
including the Positive Student Discipline Reform Demonstration Project
and the Unsafe School Choice Option Policy.

The NJDOE aims to continue to collaborate
with the following groups: New Jersey School Boards Association, New
Jersey Association of School Administrators, New Jersey Principals
and Supervisors Association, New Jersey Education Association, New
Jersey Pupil Services Administrators Association, New Jersey School
Counselors Association, the Association of Student Assistance Professionals
of New Jersey, the New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies,
the New Jersey Association of School Psychologists, the Violence Institute
of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, the Departments
of State, Health and Senior Services, Human Services and Law and Public
Safety, the Administrative Offices of the Court, the Attorney Generals
Education and Law Enforcement Working Group, and other organizations,
associations and agencies. The NJDOE intends to continue to support
the various collaborative initiatives described above in the Programmatic
Response section of this report.

The department continues to be represented
on the following organizations and their subgroups: Governors
Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Governors Advisory Council
on Domestic Violence, Governors Advisory Council on Sexual Violence,
New Jersey Association of County Youth Services Coordinators, Juvenile
Justice Delinquency Prevention Committee and School-based Probation
Committee and the New Jersey Coalition for Bullying Awareness and Prevention.

The Office of Program Support Services
in the NJDOE conducts evaluations of its major initiatives and grant
programs. During the 2003-2004 school year, the office issued a Request
for Proposal (RFP) to conduct technical analysis of the Electronic
Violence and Vandalism Reporting System data and reported performance
data on all recipients of funds under the Safe and Drug Free Schools
and Communities Act (Title IV-A of NCLB).

In September of 2004, the NJDOE was
notified by the U.S. Department of Education that it had won a three-year
competitive grant award to improve the use of data to assist in the
management of drug and violence prevention programs. Objectives of
New Jerseys project include: 1) the technological enhancement
of the program plan section of the Title IV-A portion of the No
Child Left Behind electronic application; the development of an
EVVRS data warehouse; the production of a new videotape on reporting
incidents on the EVVRS; a report containing recommendations on enhancing
participation in student surveys about at-risk behavior; and broadening
the use of data and participation in the drug and violence planning
process at the county and local levels. The department is in the process
of forming an interdepartmental project advisory committee and reviewing
tasks associated with each objective.

In 2004-2005, the NJDOE conducted
the bi-annual New Jersey Student Health Survey among a sample of public
school students. This survey, which is based on the Youth Risk Behavior
Survey sponsored by the United States Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), asks students to self-report on their actions and
attitudes in six areas that are highly related to preventable, premature
injury or illness. Concerning violence, the survey includes questions
on: carrying a weapon, carrying a gun, having been in a physical fight,
having personal property stolen or damaged at school, having been hit
by a boyfriend or girlfriend, having been forced to have sex and trying
to commit suicide. The findings are used by state agencies for planning,
program assessment and federal reporting. Reports of findings are distributed
to school staff and published on the NJDOE Web site. The spring 2005
survey is being administered in two versions, one for grades 7-8 and
another for grades 9-12.

The aforementioned changes in the
Public School Safety Law and the Unsafe School Choice Option requirement
under NCLB make accurate reporting by districts all the more
critical. In order to review completeness and consistency of district
reporting, the NJDOE is carrying out a technical review of the Electronic
Violence and Vandalism Reporting System, the results of which will
produce recommendations for improvements in the system, training priorities
and suggestions for future data analysis and reporting.

The NJDOE intends to review the
current School Safety Manual: Best Practices Guidelines and
disseminate a second generation document in the 2005-2006 school year.
Training will be offered to school staff in support of the manual.

The purpose of this planned collaborative
initiative with the Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC) and the Department
of Law and Public Safety is to develop a comprehensive array of programs
and services designed to assist local schools and community-based organizations
to understand and positively address negative youth gang issues. The
initiative will expand upon the curriculum materials and programs developed
by JJC under Phase II of a current memorandum of agreement between
JJC and the NJDOE. Once completed, these materials, including a community-based
curriculum, a gang awareness and resource booklets and a videotape
introducing the curriculum, will be made available to schools and community
organizations.

The NJDOE plans to produce and disseminate
in 2005-2006 new training videos in support of the Intervention
and Referral Services regulations (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7). NJDOE
also intends to develop supplements to the NJDOE publication titled Resource
Manual for Intervention and Referral Services and offer additional
workshops to extend the skills and knowledge of intervention and referral
services team members.

The New Jersey Higher Education
Consortium has effectively implemented a research-based project designed
to alter social norms and behavior regarding the use of harmful substances.
The NJDOE is exploring applications of the social norms model to public
schools, as well as applications of the model to issues other than
substance abuse.

Reports of the research literature
make it clear that when social-emotional and academic learning both
become part of schooling, students are more likely to remember or use
what they are taught. Findings from the research literature indicate
that schools can benefit from applying proven strategies for enhancing
academic and social-emotional learning, which have been demonstrated
to improve academic achievement, as well as reduce high-risk behavior.
In response to these important findings, the NJDOE is exploring a mechanism
to provide technical support to assist schools in examining their instructional
practices, programs, curricula and policies and fully integrating social-emotional
learning throughout the educational program.

The NJDOE plans to issue a training
and technical support contract to provide assistance and supportive
resources to schools utilizing federal Safe and Drug-Free Schools
and Communities Act funds and schools designated by the NJDOE as
persistently dangerous under the Unsafe School Choice Option Policy.

The NDOE plans to provide training,
in collaboration with other organizations, designed to help schools
prepare for emergencies and crises. Specific training will be provided
in support of the revised School Safety Manual: Best Practices Guidelines to
be developed and disseminated by the NJDOE for use in the 2005-2006
school year.

AN ACT concerning violence in the public
schools and amending P.L.1982, c.163.

C.18A:17-46 Reporting
of act of violence by school employee; annual report; public hearing.

Any school employee observing or having
direct knowledge from a participant or victim of an act of violence
shall, in accordance with standards established by the commissioner,
file a report describing the incident to the school principal in a
manner prescribed by the commissioner, and copy of same shall be forwarded
to the district superintendent.

The principal shall notify the district
superintendent of schools of the action taken regarding the incident.
Annually, at a public hearing in October, the superintendent of schools
shall report to the board of education all acts of violence and vandalism
which occurred during the previous school year. The proceedings of
the public hearing shall be transcribed and kept on file by the board
of education, which shall make the transcript available to the public.
Verification of the annual report on violence and vandalism shall be
part of the State's monitoring of the school district, and the State
Board of Education shall adopt regulations that impose a penalty on
a school employee who knowingly falsifies the report. A board of education
shall provide ongoing staff training, in cooperation with the Department
of Education, in fulfilling the reporting requirements pursuant to
this section. The majority representative of the school employees shall
have access monthly to the number and disposition of all reported acts
of school violence and vandalism.

The board of education shall file the transcript
of the public hearing with the Division of Student Services in the
Department of Education by November 1. The division shall review the
transcript to ensure compliance with this section of law. The costs
of staff training and transcribing the public hearing and printing
the transcript shall be paid by the Department of Education.

It shall be unlawful for any board of education
to discharge or in any manner discriminate against a school employee
as to his employment because the employee had filed a report pursuant
to section 1 of this act. Any employee discriminated against shall
be restored to his employment and shall be compensated by the board
of education for any loss of wages arising out of the discrimination;
provided, however, if the employee shall cease to be qualified to perform
the duties of his employment he shall not be entitled to restoration
and compensation.

L.1982, c. 163, s. 2, eff. Oct. 28, 1982.

18A:17-48. Annual report to legislature

The Commissioner of Education shall each
year submit a report to the Education Committees of the Senate and
General Assembly detailing the extent of violence and vandalism in
the public schools and making recommendations to alleviate the problem.

L.1982, c. 163, s. 3, eff. Oct. 28, 1982.

* Pertinent Sections

Appendix
B: Summary of Changes to Incident Definitions, 2003-04

EVVRS

Violence Incidents

Simple
Assault
No Change

A person attempts to cause, or purposely, knowingly,
or recklessly causes bodily injury to another. One needs to
consider age and developmentally appropriate behavior before
using this category.

Aggravated
Assault
No change

A person attempts to cause serious bodily
injury to another, or causes such injury purposely or knowingly,
or under circumstances manifesting indifference to the value
of human life, recklessly causes such injury (e.g., injury
which creates a substantial risk of death, or which causes
permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of
the function of any bodily member or organ). This category
should be used only when the attack is very serious.

Fight
2002-03

Mutual participation in a fight involving
physical violence, where there may or may not be a main offender.
Does not include verbal confrontations or minor confrontations
such as a shoving match. All participants may be classified
as offenders, or the incident may entail offender and victim.
One needs to consider age and developmentally appropriate behavior
before using this category.

(New)
2003-04

Mutual engagement in a physical confrontation
that may result in bodily injury to either party. Does not
include verbal confrontations or a minor confrontation such
as a shoving match. All participants should be classified as
offenders. One needs to consider age and developmentally appropriate
behavior before using this category.
See Scenario Examples 1-5.

Gang
Fight/Assault
2002-03

A fight between, or an assault by,
two or more members of identified groups. All participants
may be classified as offenders, or the incident may entail
offender and victim.

(New)
2003-04

A fight between two or more members
of identified groups or an assault by two or more members of
one group upon members of another group. The groups may be
gangs per se, or cliques or groups of students "working
together," even though the groups may not have a formal
partnership. If it is a fight, then all participants
should be classified as offenders (report a maximum of six
offenders on the EVVRS). If the incident represents an assault of
one group upon another, then the members of one group (a maximum
of six) would be reported as offenders and the members of the
second group (a maximum of six) would be reported as victims.
If the incident was an assault of one group upon another, then, in
addition, report the incident as either a "Simple
Assault" or an "Aggravated Assault" on
the Incident Information Page, depending upon the seriousness
of the bodily injury to the victims. If the incident was an
assault and weapons of any kind were involved, then, in
addition, report the incident as an "Assault with
a Firearm" or "Assault with Other Weapon" (but not as
a "Simple Assault" or "Aggravated Assault").
See Scenario Examples 1-5.

Robbery
No Change

Obtaining money or other materials
things (regardless of value) from another by
means of violence or threat of immediate violence.

Extortion
No change

Obtaining money or other material
things (regardless of value) from another by means of
stated or implied threat of future violence.

Sex
Offense
2002-03

Subjecting another to sexual contact
or exposure without consent. Consider age and developmentally
appropriate behavior before using this category. (Incidents
of sexual harassment are not reported as incidents of violence
using the EVVRS.)

Sex Offense
(New)
2003-04

Subjecting another to sexual contact
or exposure. For the incident to be considered a sex
offense, the offender must (1) intentionally touch, either
directly or through clothing, the victims intimate parts,
for the purpose of degrading or humiliating the victim; (2)
sexually arouse or sexually gratify himself or herself in view
of the victim whom the offender knows to be present; (3) force
or coerce the victim to participate in any contact or exposure;
or (4) commit any act of sexual assault defined under N.J.S.A.
2C:14-2, which includes provisions related to the age of the
victim and the offender. Incidents of sexual assault
should be reported in this category. Intimate body parts
are defined by statute (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-1e) to include "sexual
organs, genital area, anal area, inner thigh, groin, buttock
or breast of a person." Consider age and developmentally
appropriate behavior before using this category. Note: Sexual
harassment has been added to the reporting system in 2003-2004
under the violence reporting category Harassment/Intimidation/Bullying.See Scenario Example 11.

Threat
2002-03

Attempting by physical menace (e.g.,
verbal threats) to put another in fear of serious bodily injury.
(Do not include bomb threats in this category.) One needs to
consider age and developmentally appropriate behavior before
using this category.

Threat
(New)
2003-04

Attempting by physical menace (e.g.,
verbal threats) to put another in fear of future serious
bodily injury. (Do not include bomb threats in this category.)
One needs to consider age and developmentally appropriate behavior
before using this category.
See Scenario Examples 8-10.

Terroristic
Threat
(New Category)
2003-04

Threatening to commit one of the following
criminal offenses: homicide, assault, sexual assault, robbery,
kidnapping or arson with the purpose of placing others in imminent
fear of one of the violent acts under circumstances reasonably
causing the victims(s) to believe the immediacy of the
threat and the likelihood that it will be carried out. One
needs to consider age and developmentally appropriate behavior
before using this category.
See Scenario Examples 8-10.

Kidnapping
(New Category)
2003-04

Per N.J.S.A. 2C:13-1, unlawful
removal of a student from school or school grounds or a substantial
distance from where he or she is found in or on school grounds;
or confinement of the victim with the purpose of holding the
victim for ransom or reward as a shield or hostage, or confinement
for a substantial period of time to facilitate commission of
a crime or flight thereafter, or to inflict bodily injury or
to terrorize the victim.
See Scenario Examples 8-10.

Any gesture or written, verbal or
physical act that is reasonably perceived as being motivated
either by any actual or perceived characteristic, such as race,
color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual
orientation, gender identity and expression, or a mental, physical
or sensory handicap, or by any other distinguishing characteristic,
that takes place on school property, at any school -sponsored
function or on a school bus and that:

a) a reasonable person should know,
under the circumstances, will have the effect of harming a
student or damaging the students property; or b) has
the effect of insulting or demeaning any student or group of
students in such a way as to cause substantial disruption in,
or substantial interference with, the orderly operation of
the school.
See Scenario Examples 16-19.

Vandalism
Incident

Arson
2002-03

Purposely setting fire to school district
property or someones personal property. Arson does not
include a simple act of lighting a match. Knowingly setting
off a fire alarm when no fire exists, or damaging the alarm,
is entered in the Damage to Property category.

Arson
(New)
2003-04

Starting a fire or causing an explosion
in or on the grounds of a school thereby purposely or knowingly
placing the victim or group of specified victims in danger
of death or bodily injury; or with the purpose of destroying
or damaging the victims or group of specified victims property
that is in the school or on school grounds, a building or a
structure of another. Arson does not include a simple act of
lighting a match. Knowingly setting off a fire alarm when no
fire exists, or damaging the alarm, is entered in the Damage
to Property category.

Burglary
No change

An individual entering, or surreptitiously
remaining in, a school district facility or property, or someones
property (e.g., automobile) with the purpose to commit an offense
therein.

Damage to Property
No change

Purposely, knowingly, or recklessly
destroying or defacing school, contracted, or personal property,
causing an economic loss due to repair or replacement. Knowingly
setting off a fire alarm when no fire exists is entered in
this category. Serious incidental damage to property occurring
during an act of violence should be reported.

Fireworks Offense
2002-03

The possession, selling/distributing,
or detonating of a self-fusing explosive device, no greater
in size than two inches, and commercially sold as "fireworks."

Fireworks Offense
(New)
2003-04

The possession, selling/distributing,
or detonating of a self-fusing explosive device, no greater
in size than two inches, and commercially sold as "fireworks." Cherry
bombs, M80s and M90s are reported in this category.

Theft
No change

Taking of the districts or a persons
belongings or property without consent.

Trespassing
No change

Entrance onto school property or into
school by an individual without permission who knows he/she
is not privileged to be on property.

Cost to LEA
No change

The estimated cost of the incident
to the district. Include the cost of materials and labor (all
reimbursed costs). Do not include costs of vandalism incurred
by individual student or staff.

Substance
Abuse Incident

Use
2002-03

In accordance with N.J.A.C.
6:29-6.5(a), an incident is reported for a student for whom
a positive diagnosis from a medical examination indicates that
the student is under the influence of alcoholic beverages,
marijuana, and/or other drug (controlled dangerous substance,
but not including cigarettes), or indicates that the pupil
has used anabolic steroids. The student need not be caught
in the act of using to be reported as "use." Report
should be completed when suspected use is confirmed by positive
diagnosis.

Suspected Use Confirmed
(New)
2003-04

An incident is reported as Suspected
Use Confirmed when a positive determination from a medical
examination indicates that the student is under the influence
of alcoholic beverages, marijuana, and/or other drug (controlled
dangerous substance, but not including cigarettes), or indicates
that the student has used anabolic steroids. A report should
be completed when suspected use is confirmed by a positive
determination from a physician.

Suspected Use Not
Confirmed
2003-04

Alcoholic Beverages and Controlled
Dangerous Substances  Per N.J.A.C. 6A:16-4.3(a),
any educational staff member or other professional to whom
it appears that a student may be currently under the influence
of alcohol or other drugs on school property or at a school
function shall report the matter as soon as possible to the
principal and the certified or non-certified school nurse or
the school physician, according to the requirements of N.J.S.A.
18A:40A-12.

Anabolic Steroids  Per N.J.A.C. 6A:16-4.3(b),
any educational staff member or other professional who has
reason to believe that a student has used or may be using
anabolic steroids, that person shall report the matter as soon
as possible to the principal and to the certified or non-certified
school nurse or the school physician or to the substance awareness
coordinator, according to the requirements of N.J.S.A. 18A:40A-12.

In each instance described above,
the referring staff member shall complete the Violence, Vandalism
and Substance Abuse Incident Report, according to the requirements
of N.J.S.A. 18A:17-46 and N.J.A.C. 6A:16-5.3,
checking the field, Suspected Use  Not Confirmed.
If there is a positive determination from the medical examination,
indicating that the students alcohol or other drug use
interferes with the students mental or physical ability
to perform in school, or if it is determined that the student
has used anabolic steroids, the field, Suspected Use  Not
Confirmed, would be unchecked (de-selected) and the field,
Suspected Use  Confirmed, would be checked (selected).
Leave Suspected Use  Not Confirmed checked if there is
no positive determination of use.

Possession
No Change

Student is found with alcohol, marijuana,
and/or any other drug (controlled dangerous substance, including
anabolic steroids, but not including cigarettes) in his/her
locker or vehicle, or on his/her person. Includes possession
of unauthorized prescription drugs and drug paraphernalia.

Distribution
No Change

Student is selling, buying, or giving
alcohol or other controlled dangerous substance(s) (including
anabolic steroids) to others, or employs others to do the same.
The student need not be caught in the act of selling or giving.
The term "distribution" includes having alcohol or
drugs under circumstances where it may be inferred that the
student would distribute to others. Therefore, possession of
a large amount of drugs should be reported as "distribution," not
as "possession."

Substance type
No Change

Click the dropdown menu to indicate
which descriptor(s) characterize(s) the substance. More than
one substance type may be selected.

If a bomb was used in the weapons
incident, check the box to indicate the type of offense. If
the first or second box is checked, then an Incident Description
field must be provided.

Bomb Offense and/or
Use of an Explosive Device

Most commonly, greater in size than
a "firework," usually encased in a wax substance,
fabric, or metal canister or container, and generally electrically
fused or self-fusing. Includes "Molotov cocktail" or
similar device. Incidents to be reported include fake bombs,
devices that do not detonate, and reported bomb threats (no
Victim Information should be reported in the case of bomb threat).

Firearm
Offense - **Incident Description is required.**

Select one of the three
choices, defined below, from the dropdown menu.

Possession
of a Firearm
No change

Having on ones person, or in
ones locker or vehicle, a handgun or rifle. The firearm
need not be loaded. (Staff should not attempt to determine
if weapon is loaded.) Include air guns, but do not include "look-alike" firearms
that cannot be converted to a firearm. New Jersey law classifies "look-alike
firearms" as firearms; federal law, however, does not. "Look-alike
firearms" are to be reported under Other Weapons (see
Other Weapons Offense, below).

Assault with a Firearm
No Change

Attacking or physically harming someone
by threatening with or shooting a handgun or rifle. The firearm
need not be loaded. (Staff should not attempt to determine
if weapon is loaded.)

Sale or Transfer
of a Firearm
No Change

Selling or giving, or having in ones
possession with the intent to distribute or sell, a firearm
of any kind.

Firearm type
No Change

More than one type of firearm may
be checked. Note: Imitation firearms such as "look-alike" handguns
are not classified as firearms by federal law; they should
be included under Other Weapons (see Other Weapons Offense,
below).

Other
Weapons Offense Select one of the three choices, defined
below, from the dropdown menu.

Assault
with Other Weapon
2002-03

Attacking or physically harming someone
with a knife, club, stun gun, chain, Mace, pepper spray, or
other instrument of violence (other than a firearm).

Assault with Other
Weapon
(New)
2003-04

Attacking or physically harming someone
with a knife, club, stun gun, chain, pepper spray, or other
instrument (other than a firearm) readily capable of lethal
use or of inflicting serious bodily injury.

Possession
of Other Weapon
2002-03

Having on ones person or in
ones locker or vehicle, a knife, club, stun gun, chain,
Mace, pepper spray, or other instrument of violence (other
than a firearm) which is intended for use to cause physical
injury or harm to another person or destruction of property.
If Assault with Other Weapon is checked, Possession of Other
Weapon cannot be checked.

Possession of Other
Weapon
(New)
2003-04

Having on ones person or in
ones locker or vehicle any weapon (other than a firearm). A
weapon is any instrument readily capable of lethal use or of
inflicting bodily injury that includes, but is not limited
to, knives, clubs or other bludgeons, chains, sling shots,
leather bands studded with metal filings and razor blades.
This category also includes stun guns and any device which
projects, releases or emits tear gas or any other substance
(e.g., pepper spray) intended to produce temporary discomfort
or permanent injury through being vaporized or otherwise dispensed
in the air. Components that can readily be assembled into a
weapon also apply. An incident of possession, if not reported
on the EVVRS, may, of course, still be reported in the districts
disciplinary record system.

If Assault with Other Weapon is checked,
Possession of Other Weapon cannot be checked. Consider
age and developmentally appropriate behavior before using this
category. See Scenario Examples 12-15.

Sale
or Transfer of Other Weapon
No Change

Selling or giving, or having in ones
possession with the intent to distribute or sell, a weapon
of any kind.

Other
Weapon Type

Select other weapon type(s) from the
dropdown menu. More than one weapon type may be checked.